The present invention relates to picture processing apparatuses, and more particularly to a picture processing apparatus which can process a picture of wide angle of view at high precision.
In recent years, moving systems such as a moving inspection robot, and intelligent robot etc. have been demanded. For moving systems of this type, it is necessary to function within an environment that is not perfectly known in advance.
An expedient for recognizing the ambient environment of the moving system has heretofore been such that the ambient environment is observed with a television camera or the like, and that an operator or a controlling computer forms a plan for the action of the moving system on the basis of a picture obtained by the observation. An example of such a system is disclosed in "Manipulator Vehicles of the Nuclear Emergency Brigade in the Federal Republic of Germany" contained in the Proceeding of 24 th Conference on Remote Systems Technology, 1976, pp. 196-218. A serious obstacle to information processing for forming a plan of action lies in the inadequate processing ability of the conventional television camera. More specifically, the performance of the present-day television camera is greatly inferior to that of the human eye. For example, it is known that the human eye can process a picture of wide angle of view and that it can maintain a high resolution for an area worthy of special interest. In order to realize these functions with the television camera, a prior art system uses a lens of narrow angle of view in compliance with a required resolution and changes the direction of the television camera thereby to scan the whole field of view.
This measure, however, must rotate or turn a television camera of great weight over a large angle. It is therefore very difficult to process at high speed a picture corresponding to the whole field of view. There is also a system wherein a large number of television cameras facing in various directions within the whole field of view are positioned for enhancing the picture processing speed. Since, with this system, the moving system is equipped with the large number of television cameras, its weight increases much more, resulting in such problems that the cost rises and that the maneuverability of the moving system degrades.